Earlier this year , Alpinestars launched its second version of the already popular Bionic Action jacket , we took ours through SE Asia and came to a surprising conclusion .
Essentially lightweight motocross or enduro armour the Bionic Action V2 jacket is a CE- certified armour ladened shirt that allows for protection regardless of riding dirt or sealed roads . It fits well , for almost every body shape , providing a level of protection that most will find adequate , especially in slower riding conditions . All protective armour pieces ( shoulders , elbows , chest and back ) are level 1 CE rated , that ’ s lower impact protection than level 2 .
While at level 1 we found that the construction and placement of the armour to be of a high standard and did in fact protect in a minor fall , this is only impact protection , the Bionic Action V2 would offer very minor protection in abrasion contact .
The elbow and shoulder protectors are certified as CE-Level 1 to a standard of EN 1621-1:2012 meeting the European standard , they also have a standard of Type B , essentially greater coverage . Both have built in flexibility allowing for greater movement without compromising the protection area . Integrated into the overall construction of the shirt they fit extremely well and rarely move around on the body . Although the shirt is not rated for abrasion resistance the overall placement of the around on the arms does offer a level of coverage that would protect somewhat .
The back protector is of a CE standard that relates to the shoulder and elbow protection and although a narrow width , we found it to have reasonable coverage across the centre of the back offering a somewhat reasonable level of protection to the spine .
It ’ s a similar story for the chest protector , which is in fact two halves . Level 1 is a step down from the previous version of the jacket , a great shame , although it does fit much better .
Fitting the jacket is a science , we ’ d recommend not ordering online but rather try on for size first . The sizes are snug , you may want to go up one size unless you like the compression feel of the fit . We also doubt that the Alpinestars Bionic Action V2 jacket would suit women , although they do
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